TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — TPP Chair Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said Wednesday that the KMT and the TPP remain divided over proposed referendums on judicial whipping and absentee voting.
Speaking in an interview, Huang discussed the opposition's five proposed referendum questions, per Tai Sounds. He said the two parties have reached a consensus on proposals to dedicate traffic fine revenue to transportation-related spending, restart Taiwan's nuclear power plants and oppose abolishing the death penalty.
However, Huang said the parties have yet to agree on the KMT's proposal to introduce judicial whipping into Taiwan's criminal code or the TPP's proposal to introduce absentee voting.
The KMT's proposal would introduce judicial whipping as an additional punishment for serious crimes, including child abuse, sexual assault, and fraud. The TPP's proposal would allow absentee voting in national elections, including presidential and legislative elections and referendums, per Storm Media.
When the KMT sought to send its judicial whipping proposal directly to a second reading on Friday, all TPP lawmakers declined to vote on the motion, per PTS. At the time, TPP Legislator Wang An-hsiang (王安祥) said the party had not reached an internal consensus and therefore would neither support nor oppose the measure.
The TPP has previously expressed reservations about introducing corporal punishment into Taiwan's criminal code, citing human rights concerns and the possibility of state compensation claims. Former TPP Chair Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) also questioned the proposal, arguing it would not address low public confidence in Taiwan's judicial system.
Separately, the opposition is considering legislation that would place all referendums held concurrently with an election on a single ballot, per China Times. The proposal appears to respond to Central Election Commission Chair You Ying-lung's (游盈隆) assessment that Taiwan's election system cannot accommodate more than three concurrent referendums.
KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) said the United States and Switzerland both print multiple concurrent referendum questions on a single ballot. DPP Legislative Caucus Secretary-General Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said it was too early to comment on the proposal because the CEC has not yet reviewed the opposition's referendum proposals, per UDN.
